Safemama has a great “Dear SafeMama” edition this week on having a green baby shower. How do you avoid (or reduce chances) of getting baby gear and products laced with parabens, BPA, etc.? SafeaMama turns to its readers to get some really great tips for proper etiquette on having a green baby shower. Read more.

Tiffany at Naturemoms.com/blog has a great post and giveaway for Yummy in My Tummy gourmet and organic baby food. My baby is 5 months old, so I am going to have to check this stuff out. I will me making my own (you know in my “spare” time) but I have to bring the unopened, packaged stuff to daycare, so this may fit that bill. Tiffany and her 2 kids gave this product 6 thumbs up! Plus the packaging is free of all kids of icky things, including BPA. Read more.

A USA Today article today discussed the challenge of finding safe toys this holiday season. The government recently passed a law which would ban some toxic substances from children’s products, however, the ban does not take effect until February 10, 2008, allowing retailers and manufacturers to sell off toys this Christmas Season that do not meet the new standards.

Unfortunately, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said they will allow toys containing phthalates, one of the newly banned chemicals that affects the reproductive system, to be sold indefinitely. (I find it ironic they have “safety” in their name when they make a decision like this.)

Luckily, many reliable toys manufacturers already meet these new standards, and wooden toys are making a comeback as well. You can see some of these manufacturers and a list of toys that are lead, phthalate and BPA-free here. Other companies, like Fisher-Price, can’t tell you which, if any, of their toys are free of any of these substances.

There are a few manufactures they list that use vinyl to make their dolls, but they are phthalate free. Certainly a great step, but as the article points out, lead has been found in several products using PVC. SAFbaby recommends erring on the side of caution and going PVC and vinyl free. In any case, those manufacturers using phthalate free vinyl are:
• Kathe Kruse
• Keptin-Jr
• Corolle
• Zapf Creation

These are the vinyl and phthalate free dolls SAFbaby recommends. They are all cloth dolls and easy to clean.

Whatever doll you choose, SAFbaby recommends contacting manufacturers to be sure the dolls are not treated with flame retardants, are free of heavy metals, and are painted with safe/non-toxic paints.

SAFbaby also told me they updated their post. They pointed out that even cloth dolls may not be free of phthalates. Some are stuffed with plastic pellets. Some pellets are made with PE which is a safe plastic and others PVC, which is not safe, so be sure you know what the doll is made of — inside and out!